Age of Conan's New Director More 'Player-Centric'

Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has a new game director and with him comes the promise of a more "player-centric" direction for the MMO that launched in May.

"I think that the fact that Gaute leaves means that we get a direction which is more player-centric, since [new game director Craig Morrison] is so good at being hands-on with the communities at all times," said Funcom product manager Jorgen Tharaldsen to MTV Multiplayer in reference to the sudden departure of Gaute Godager.

Godager was a founding member of Funcom and served as producer on Age of Conan through the game's launch before leaving, citing dissatisfaction with the finished product.

"We have seen but the start of the evolution of Age of Conan, and out of all the people in Funcom, I can't think of anyone which could do it better than Craig," said Tharaldsen. His optimism echoes that of Morrison himself, who promised, "My main priority now is therefore to listen to, and act on, player concerns."

Try Navyfield; although a bit slow (try months, it's a small company) they listen to the players. There's even a special Test-server, on which a group of players can tweak and test settings and new content.

Mythic listens to their players and DAoC was pretty damn good for a while. They released classic servers after players hated ToA. They're listening to the community for WAR, so far, and it's been working out.

They should always listen, but through a filter. Players are too narrow minded they do not see the big picture, so "Nerf this class" is very often the wrong direction and the how is usually never given.